Eisner raids con man's 'Sting'

Producer preps feature on 'Amazing True Story' of sham drug busts

Producer Eric Eisner has acquired "The King of Sting," a real-life con-man story with echoes of "Catch Me If You Can."

The project centers on Craig Glazer, a colorful criminal who crisscrossed the U.S. for decades posing as an undercover cop and conducting drug stings, pocketing the money and drugs netted from his illegal operations.

Glazer and partner Don Woodbeck were so successful in their faux stings that they were hired by the Kansas attorney general. Their exploits ended abruptly when Woodbeck was killed in an attempt to land a final score.

"When you read the story, you almost can't believe the stuff they were able to pull," Eisner said.

Eisner optioned rights to a book Glazer wrote about his dramatic life, titled "The King of Sting: The Amazing True Story of a Modern American Outlaw," and also acquired life rights. He will produce through his L+E Pictures shingle. Glazer also will produce. Jake Ryan and Sal Manna are associate producers.

The protagonist also has a showbiz connection: Glazer's father, Stanford, owns the well-known Kansas City, Kan., comedy club Stanford & Sons, which helped launch the careers of such A-listers as Roseanne Barr and Jeff Foxworthy.

Eisner is behind the long- running ESPN show "Madden Nation" and produced the 2008 Sundance hit "Hamlet 2." He is developing an English-language reboot of Bertrand Tavernier's French thriller "The Bait" and, with veteran producers Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa, a Jerry Garcia biopic.

Skyhorse Publishing released "Sting," which Glazer wrote with Manna, in July. (partialdiff)